Chabad plans aren't right for Hidden Valley neighborhood
Oct 8, 2008 - La Jolla Light
We've watched and listened to both sides in the battle over plans to build a new home along with a synagogue where Rabbi Baruch Ezagui now lives on Hidden Valley Road, at the "Throat" intersection at La Jolla Parkway.
We stand on the side of the street with neighbors who fear the traffic impacts of Chabad La Jolla.
The plan calls for a three-level "facility," as it is labeled in the architect's project description. The lowest level would handle underground parking for 33 cars; the second level the 96-seat sanctuary and a pre-school/infant care center; the third level would accommodate a four-bedroom residence for the rabbi, his wife and their four children and a guest bedroom and bath.
The consultants have made their case that the single-family home is a permitted use under the community's Planned District Ordinance. Their studies indicate that the project will not further degrade traffic flows already rated "F" by the city's analysis.
And just in case, they've voluntarily committed to restrict "social or assembly uses" during peak weekday hours so there will be no traffic impacts.
On the other side, neighbors have come together as Friends of Hidden Valley to campaign against the project. Already, they say, Hidden Valley Road gets quite backed up when the intersection drivers ignore the "Keep Clear" messages and block the intersection.
Parking for events like weddings and bar mitzvahs would more than fill the planned parking spaces, they add, clogging neighborhood streets as already happens when neighbors host large parties and making it dangerous for emergency vehicles to get through.
They've made their voices heard at meetings of the La Jolla Shores Planned District Ordinance Committee and the Traffic & Transportation Board, which have both voted against the plans. They were at the recent La Jolla Community Planning Association meeting, where certain a recommendation to deny the project was about to move on to the city before a resident asked for a full discussion on the matter in November.
And we've heard from more than 2,000 people responding to the lajollalight.com poll - which is decidedly unscientific and does not pretend to represent the views of just those affected by the project.
What this tells us is Chabad La Jolla is stirring strong emotions on all sides.
While it is allowable under current zoning, which permits churches to be located in single-family neighborhoods, we, like Friends of Hidden Valley, have a hard time accepting the fact that there won't be traffic nightmares if the project is approved.
All it takes is a wrongly timed tap on the brakes or a child chasing a ball into the street to turn already congested traffic into gridlock.
Neighbors and others driving through the "Throat" have a hard enough time already, even when it's not peak driving time.
Although we would like to have the Chabad as part of our faith community, we would like to see it in another location.
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